# It finally happened: a gun in a teddy bear. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176 "2003-07-17T16:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/1 "2003-07-17T16:34:06Z")
For years, the joke has been the stern-faced, by-the-book security guard scrutinizing a teddy bear “as if there’s really going to be something dangerous inside an innocent child’s innocent toy!” [Well, guess what.](http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/07/17/gun.teddy.bear/index.html) And this is a two-fer: the bear was “given” to the kid by a stranger! “Who’s going to give me a dangerous object just before I get on the plane? Huh? Ha!” ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/2 "2003-07-17T16:46:15Z")
What parent in their right mind allows a child to accept a gift from a stranger? And how many times do you hear over the loud speaker at an airport 'Do not leave your bags unattended and do not accept packages from people you don’t know?" ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/3 "2003-07-17T17:41:04Z")
From the same article > [@](#): > > Also at that airport, screeners stopped a 67-year-old man who had hollowed out his prosthetic leg to conceal a nine-inch knife in a scabbard. > > Both were arrested, Johnson said. Do they mean the man _and_ the leg? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/4 "2003-07-17T18:36:54Z")
. . . And He’s PISSED. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/5 "2003-07-17T22:44:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\*Do they mean the man _and_ the leg? \*\* No; the leg was allowed to continue it’s journey alone. The funny thing was that it never really really wanted the man to accompany it on vacation in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/6 "2003-07-18T01:52:37Z")
Irwin Mainway would be proud. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/7 "2003-07-18T02:07:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Isabelle \* > \*\*What parent in their right mind allows a child to accept a gift from a stranger? And how many times do you hear over the loud speaker at an airport 'Do not leave your bags unattended and do not accept packages from people you don’t know?" \*\* The article said the kid was given the bear two days before they left, so it wasn’t a random event that happened at the airport (like going to the bathroom and letting strange men reading Communist propaganda watch your bags). It could have been from a fare type setting, or part of the hotel “customer gift basket” or something like that. And it’s quite possible the parents were present when the child was given the bear, and it wasn’t just a “dark car pulls up to child on the street” scenario. Apparently, the parents didn’t seem to mind because the child didn’t seem in danger from a stalker, but that’s all the more reason to be concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-finally-happened-a-gun-in-a-teddy-bear/189176/8 "2003-07-18T03:12:18Z")
How much does one of those guns weigh? It seems the extra weight would be obvious, but maybe it’s a very light gun? Still seems it would be obvious.